BJP slams Abdul Nasser Madani's speech at daughter's nikah

Thiruvanathapuram, Mar 11: The 17-minute speech by People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Abdul Nasser Madani during the 'nikah' of his daughter in Kollam district of Kerala on Sunday has sparked off a major controversy.

BJP state president V Muraleedharan said that by addressing PDP supporters at the venue of the wedding, the accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts case deliberately flouted the order of the trial court.

Muraleedharan pointed out that as per the conditional bail granted to Madani on Mar 8, the PDP chairman was barred from making any public statements in the five days he is supposed to spend in Kerala.

Yet Madani openly hit out at the Karnataka government and at the same time justified his actions, the BJP leader noted. Slamming the state government for ignoring Madani's provocative speech, Muraleedharan added that the ruling UDF is not really committed to combating terrorism.

BJP is not the only party to raise questions over Madani's speech. When newspersons asked CPI-M leader VS Achuthanandan about it, he replied that the intelligence agencies need to look into whether Madani had indeed criticised the courts.

Incidentally, two Lok Sabha members MI Shahnawaz of the Congress and Indian Union Muslim League's ET Mohammed Basheer shared the stage with Madani on Sunday. Moreover, CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan sat on Madani's right side while former state ministers C Divakaran and Thomas Issac were among those sitting to his left.

These senior politicians knew that Madani is facing charges of conspiring with those terrorists who carried out the bomb blasts that left one person dead and over 20 injured in Bangalore back in Jul 2008. Karnataka police arrested the PDP chairman in Aug 2010 and he has been in jail since then. Yet they did not hesitate to be seen along with him in public.

Madani arrived here on Mar 9. He has been given permission to attend his daughter's wedding and then meet his sick father at Anwarassery. He is due to be taken back to Bangalore on Mar 12.